Wednesday, 20 November 2013

Specialist teacher Diane Girard is ROARing her support for teaching assistants

I am shocked by the the Department of Education even considering getting rid of teaching assistants as a cost cutting exercise.

Although I have now retired as a specialist teacher I greatly valued the
work of TAs . They are crucial for supporting children in school. I
have worked with and given training to a number of TAs. Their dedication
and interest was always inspiring despite low pay.

I am deeply concerned that without TA support many children will not be
able to reach their potential or even cope at all. For all kinds of
reasons not all children are able to access the curriculum or manage
socially. I have been involved with children on the autism spectrum and
children with dyslexia. These children were able to remain in mainstream
education because of support.

The loss of TAs is extremely worrying. Michael Gove's department need to ditch this idea once and for all.